Archbishop Girelli's Feb. 26-28 pastoral visit to Timor Leste was his
first since he took office as apostolic nuncio to both Indonesia and Timor
Leste in 2006. He celebrated Mass at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Dili,
visited camps for displaced people in and around the capital, and visited
Our Lady of Fatima Minor Seminary in Dare, a village of Dili. He also met
with leaders of Baucau and Dili dioceses, which cover the predominantly
Catholic country.

After the meeting with Gusmao, the Jakarta-based nuncio told the media
that throughout his three-day visit he asked the Church and the government
to build peace and stability in Timor Leste. "I bring also Pope
Benedict XVI's blessing and prayer that Timor Leste be free from crisis as
soon as possible," he said.

Archbishop Girelli said that aside from talking about Church
participation in the fields of education and health, they also discussed
long-term cooperation between the Vatican and Timor Leste in order to create
peace. "The president told us that Timor Leste really needs the
diplomatic relations with the Vatican," the nuncio added.

Bishop da Silva, who also spoke to the press, said that during the
meeting "the nuncio asked the president to work together with the
Church to quickly solve the crisis."

The Dili bishop added, "To end the crisis I ask all Catholics to
unite and pray that God gives them a way to restore peace in the
country."

A mutiny in April 2006 led to months of arson, looting and gang violence,
pitting locals from eastern and western parts of the country against one
another. At least 20 people died and 100,000 were displaced, taking refuge
in camps, many of them in Catholic churches and centers.

About 25,000 people still stay in 26 camps in and around Dili, according
to the country's interior ministry.

During his Feb. 26 visit to some of these sites, Archbishop Girelli told
people at Metinaro Camp, 20 kilometers east of Dili, "I believe your
government will solve the problem and you will go home."

Jose Soares told UCA News he was "so glad" the nuncio visited
them in their tents despite the rain. "We hope he will pray that peace
is restored in our country and we may go home," he said.

Archbishop Girelli visited Baucau diocese Feb. 28.

He is visiting Atambua diocese in West Timor, the Indonesian part of
Timor Island, before returning to Jakarta.

Timor Leste, where Catholics officially form 96 percent of the population
of about 1 million, has faced decades of violence. It was a Portuguese
colony for centuries before Lisbon withdrew in 1975, affording a brief taste
of freedom. Indonesian troops invaded shortly thereafter, however, and
Jakarta annexed East Timor in 1976. Large numbers of people died under a
repressive Indonesian occupation.

A referendum on independence in 1999 sparked violence that was blamed
mainly on pro-Jakarta militia with ties to the Indonesian army. An
international force of peacekeepers then moved in, ushering in a
transitional period of United Nations administration. Timor Leste became a
full-fledged nation on May 20, 2002.